A CHILD'S INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

"What is African American history?" So asks narrator Dion Graham as he reads Jabari Asim's A Child's Introduction to African American History.

Of course, giant volumes could, and have, been written on the topic. But this is a "child's introduction" and it explores moments in African American history by looking at contributions in politics, sports, entertainment music and more. Highlights include the oldest church, the oldest civil rights groups, the slave trade, the abolitionist movement and the evolution of terms from "coloreds," "negroes" and "blacks" to "African American." Martin Luther King, Josephine Baker, Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Tiger Woods, Marvin Gaye and Toni Morrison are just a handful of the historic figures mentioned.

Graham's narration of Jabari Asim's text is straightforward and even-tempered, and the companion PDF features Lynne Gaines' illustrations and fact-boxes for many of the people referenced.

Ann Oldenburg, lecturer and interim director of the journalism program at Georgetown University, writes about television, food, workplace issues and other pop culture topics. A University of Florida Gator with a degree in journalism, she began her career at The Washington Post and spent more than two decades with USA TODAY. She and her husband have three sons and live in McLean, Virginia.